Minnesota Vikings ready to show they're prime-time players again

A fan cheers before the Monday night game against Chicago played at TCF Bank Stadium on Dec. 20, 2010, which the Vikings lost 40-14. (AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)

Quarterback Brett Favre shows his frustration during the Vikings' 14-9 loss to the New Orleans Saints in a Thursday night game to start the 2010 season. (Special to the Pioneer Press / Brian Lawdermilk)

The Vikings have been ghastly in recent prime-time games on Thursday, Sunday and Monday nights, generating one must-flee TV episode after another for fans willing to stay tuned after dark.

Last year was a disaster, but not nearly as ugly as 2010. Even during their 2009 run to the NFC championship game, the Vikings' dominance wilted under the lights when they lost three of four regular-season games in front of a national television audience.

Minnesota is 2-9 playing in prime time the past three seasons, outscored by an average of 29-17.

The vibe has changed in 2012, however, as the Vikings prepare for their only night game of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday, Oct. 25, at the Metrodome.

Instead of advancing a public execution, the Vikings (5-2) have exceeded expectations and scripted a surprise feel-good story to show the country, at least to those cable customers paying premium for the NFL Network.

So pull up a chair and watch the electrifying and multidimensional Percy Harvin befuddle defenders. Marvel at the remarkable comeback of running back Adrian Peterson, who insists he has not fully regained power in his surgically repaired knee even after his 153-yard performance against the Cardinals.

Witness a mauling top-10 defense that has 22 sacks, tied for third-most in the league, a playmaking secondary and a passing attack capable of ... well, perhaps not everything is worthy of attraction.

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Still, the stage provides an opportunity for the Vikings to prove themselves to their peers, pocket another winnable game and polish a 6-2 record before gearing up for a daunting second-half schedule.

"We can showcase a little bit, show the world exactly what the Minnesota Vikings are all about," defensive end Brian Robison said. "Bottom line, whether it's a noon game or a national game, we've got to come out and impose our will on teams, and that's what we plan on doing Thursday."

The NFL Network expanded its Thursday night package this season from eight to 13 games, ensuring all 32 teams would play at least one prime-time game during the week. If their 2012 narrative remains compelling, the Vikings could have one of their remaining six games shifted into prime time under the NFL's flexible schedule protocol with the networks.

"Everybody's getting the same opportunity in the NFL; it's just our turn, I guess," linebacker Chad Greenway said. "A lot of guys haven't played on this stage, at this level, the young guys. It'll be a big opportunity for those guys to play in front of a national audience, or those who can get NFL Network. It'll be fun for our fans and our fan base."

This is the first season since 2003 the Vikings were not scheduled to play on "Monday Night Football" and the first time in six years they were not slated for a Sunday night game.

Their 9-23 record the past two seasons contributed to second-class citizenship in the eyes of the networks, not to mention the retirement of ratings magnet Brett Favre.

In 2010, the Vikings were the NFL's ultimate reality show. Favre's sexting scandal, the Randy Moss trade, the firing of Brad Childress and a Metrodome roof collapse that forced the team to play home games at TCF Bank Stadium and Ford Field in Detroit were catnip to TV executives hungry for drama.

Coach Leslie Frazier endured all of it that year, first as defensive coordinator and then as Childress' interim replacement. He is perfectly content to frame Thursday night's game in the context of a young team checking off another opponent on the long road to redemption.

"I feel like every week we're on a national stage, I really do," he said. "It's so important that we always play really well for a lot of reasons. We're playing at home this week, in front of our fans. The only significance from my standpoint, and from our team's standpoint, is it's the next game on our schedule."

Then again, these Vikings have embraced a low profile that allows them to concentrate on improving week to week on the field instead of TMZ chronicling their latest transgression off it.

"I like to fly under the radar," deadpanned safety Jamarca Sanford, whose high-octave trash talking makes him impossible to ignore in the secondary or the locker room. "You can stay focused and not get too big-headed. We've got a bunch of guys where that's not our concern. Just keep playing good football and keep winning."